Monday, 29 February 2016

Vegetable and Fruit markets definitely a foodies dream, the colourful veg and fruits always makes me happy and I always think that colours of nature are difficult to improve or perhaps impossible ! The atmosphere at the markets are fabulous. It is a centre of attraction for both buyers and sellers. While locally grown fresh produces piled up catches your attention, specialities makes you almost run to them.

On my each and every visits to my local Indian grocery store, I find it interesting where I see all sorts of people and always get valuable experience. While senior citizens happily meet and greet the others and take their time, definitely many young mum's find it hard to keep their toddlers in control, some kids get told off and some gets what ever they want. Actually couple of times I've seen mothers just pick up any fruits from the cart and give their kids to eat in the shop, and I always wonder who is going to pay for it !

Lol, many young 'Desi' couple still thinks and behave like they are on their honeymoon they get up to this kind of antics even in the grocery shops, they hold hands and even further than that I've seen them singing Bollywood tunes !!!

I've seen many fussy people who wants to get their items after hundred checks, where some who are like me just fill the bag and make a quick move. Sometimes People ask you if they are not sure about the product, or what to do with it and many who would happily give away recipes and will tell anything and everything you need to know, this happens to me a lot and I don't mind sharing my knowledge if someone asks me.

So while I was filling a bag with tender and fresh Bhindi ( Okra ), I noticed two elderly gentleman were inspecting each and every bhindi and filling it their bag, and were talking about how they cook Bhindi. Suddenly I found their conversation interesting, I heard one gentleman saying that his wife is a great fan of Bhindi sabji, which he cooks for her :) and without hesitation I asked him how he cooks and he gave me recipe, the recipe he told me , surprisingly many times I too cook Bhindi same way. And he asked me is there any other way I cook ? I gave the recipe of Bhinda Kadhi how I make, gentleman said glad I gave him a new recipe and he will cook for his wife , he told me ' Aaje to dinner ma wife ne Bhinda ni Kadhi pirsis ' which means 'tonight I'll prepare Okra Kadhi for my wife' and we wished best to each other and I left the store thinking 'Tonight I'll serve Okra Kadhi to my family' !!!

Bhinda, Lili Dungri and Lasan Kadhi, hugely popular and hit in my family as we are 'Kadhi' loving family. I've never had Bhinda Kadhi while I was growing up, my mum never cooked Bhinda Kadhi, although she would add just yogurt in the end into Bhinda sabji ( this is the recipe that gentleman in the shop gave me ). I came to know about Bhinda kadhi, after I got married and heard from my husband so, started cooking Bhinda Kadhi, but always I tried experiment with this recipe, and got inspired by my mum's recipe Lili Dungri ( Spring Onion ) Kadhi and came up with this recipe.

Bhinda, Lili Dungri and lasan Kadhi, is spicy, sour in taste and has thicker consistency almost like Punjabi Kadhi, unlike the Gujarati Kadhi which has sweet, sour and spicy flavours. It can be served with Chapatti or Bajra Rotla ( Millet flour roti ).

You will need :-

250 g Bhinda ( Okra )

400 ml full fat plain sour yogurt

4 tbsp. gram flour ( Besan )

4-5 tbsp. chopped spring onion

2 tbsp. chopped green garlic

Pinch turmeric powder

Pinch hing

Salt to taste

3-4 tbsp. oil

1 tsp. mustard and cumin seeds

2 tbsp. ginger, garlic and green chilli paste

4-5 dry red chillies

Pinch methi seeds ( Optional )

10-12 fresh curry leaves

2 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves

Method :-
Wash and Clean Okra, then dry completely with clean kitchen towel or kitchen tissue paper.
Apply little lemon juice on knife ( this prevents the knife getting too sticky ) and cut the okra about 1" size.
Heat about 2 tbsp. oil in a thick bottom kadai or pan, add mustard seeds, once it's crackle add cumin and methi seeds.
Add dry red chillies and fresh curry leaves and fry for few seconds.
Then add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste and sauté for few seconds.
Once raw smell go off, add green garlic. spring onion and cook for couple of minutes.
Add okra and salt and cook okra on high heat for 7-8 minutes or until okra looks dry and stickiness goes away.
Meanwhile in a bowl combine yogurt, besan , salt, turmeric and hing.
Add little water and mix well, so there are no lumps in the yogurt mixture.
Add yogurt mixture mixture into the cooked okra and keep the heat on low.
Slowly stir the yogurt mixture, if the mixture is too thick add little water.
Let the kadhi come to a boil and simmer for another 8-10 minutes.
Add fresh coriander leaves.
Once you achieved the consistency of kadhi, prepare for another tadka ( tempering )
Heat oil in a small pan , and add cumin seeds once seeds crackle pour the tadka on cooked Bhinda Kadhi.
Serve Bhinda Kadhi hot with Chapatti, Paratha or rice.
I love to have mine with Bajra Rotla .

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post !
We hope to see you again soon :)

This wholesome, delicious and soul satisfying curry is second to none. Add fresh fenugreek leaves to your normal mixed beans curry for that unique and earthy taste and of course make this curry full of protein, fibre and vitamins.

That's correct, this simple and traditional beans curry is given an interesting twist with a dose of aromatic, strong and subtle bitter flavour of fresh fenugreek. Caramelised onion with whole spices along with ginger and garlic are combined to hot and spicy flavours just like any other north Indian Punjabi style curry. Succulent mixed beans, bitter and earthy Fenugreek leaves simmered juicy tomatoes base, irresistible aroma and flavours that work so well and creates one unique and finger licking curry.

A delicious curry accompanied with roti, naan or paratha and plenty of fresh salad you want to eat on a weekend lunch to nurture your body and soul.

Sunday, 21 February 2016

Lasniya Methi Gajar, so simple, crunchy and flavourful stir fry or warm salad that makes a quick warming winter side dish to any meal. This recipe is my Mum's, while I was growing up in India, no winter passed by without seeing this recipe.

As much as I enjoy raw carrots in salad, I like my carrots "Al Dente" too, No wonder I have so many Carrot stir fry recipe :). Recently I read somewhere that cooked carrots are healthier than raw and provides more Beta-Carotene, so now I have one more reason to celebrate this recipe !!

I've made this dish always with orange carrots but this time I used some red Indian carrots and cut them into matchstick so they would cook quickly without losing its texture, colour and nutritious. I sautéed carrots in oil with garlic and dry fenugreek seeds and added just a few spices and finished with some aromatic dry fenugreek leaves.

This recipe is so simple and easy to cook, apart from slicing and cutting carrots into matchstick, but if you have a food processor this job can become easy too. Once preparation is done, cooking goes very smoothly.

You will need :-

250 g carrots washed, peeled and cut into matchstick

1 tbsp. oil

Pinch cumin seeds

3-4 cloves garlic sliced

1/4 tsp. fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Small pinch sugar ( optional )

Few drops of lemon juice

Small pinch turmeric

1/2 tsp. red chilli powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin and coriander

Pinch dried fenugreek leaves

Method :-
Heat oil in a kadai.
Add garlic and cumin seeds, sauté till golden but not burnt.
Add fenugreek seeds and fry for few seconds.
Now add carrots and turn the heat high and quickly add all the masala and stir fry for couple of minutes.
Sprinkle sugar, salt , fenugreek leaves and lemon juice.
Mix well.
Turn the heat off.
Serve hot with any meal.
Enjoy !

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post ! We hope to see you again soon :)

Saturday, 20 February 2016

No, this pie is not healthy, just because I have used Cranberries, one of the world's healthiest fruit, but only sinful and richly flavourful :D

I am not a great fan of using fruit in my baking, either I have fruit or sinful baked goodies without fruits, don't like mixing the two together. You must be curious then why Cranberry Pie and that too near Easter ? Like I said in my earlier post each every recipe on my blog, has it's own story !

Last year during Christmas season, I got little greedy and bought extra packet of these deep red and sharp cranberries. Used one whole packet for Cranberry Pickle with Punch Phoran and half of them used in making Cranberry, Orange and mango sauce with Indian Tadka, both were phenomenal. Because it was busy Christmas holiday, I did not think what to do with the half a packet berries, quickly I rinsed and shoved it in the freezer it and totally forgot about it until few days back.

While I was giving a little clean to my American fridge freezer, found couple of small buried fruit bags of cranberries and blueberries. I was scratching my head what to do with them, okay I could've used blueberries in the smoothie, but what to with cranberries, so tart and sharp how can I even think about adding it in the smoothie ? and we had enough of pickle and sauce oh and I cannot stand many beverage recipes too ! So only option I had was to ask 'Google Maharaj' !!

Wow..'Google Maharaj' came up with hundreds of recipes including pies, tarts, crisps, cakes and many more. So in the end I opted for baking something with the frozen cranberries as Valentine day was just next day. I liked the idea of baking Cranberry Galette or pie but in cast iron skillet, lately I have grown fond for baking in cast iron.

It was wonderful, beautiful enough for a get together or rustic and cosy enough to devour with family after a meal. It's fuss free delightful dessert, no need to look out for any other fancy ingredients and bonus point is that this recipe is nicely adoptable, you don't have to stick to the actual measurements like any other baking recipes. Also almost half the preparation you can do in advance by making both the filling and crust.

So I took an inspiration from couple of recipes online, but added few personal touches and flavours and baked Rustic Spiced Cranberry Skillet Pie With Spiced and Nutty Crust, The result was hands down, one of the scrumptious baked goodies we have tasted, but still there was something niggling me that I used fruit in my baking.

I used some aromatic spices like cinnamon. nutmeg and cardamom in the crust and brought nuttiness with using mixed nuts and buckwheat flakes and tossed the frozen cranberries with some blueberries and spices for the filling.

The tart and spiced cranberries, flaky, spiced and nutty crust which is not too sweet perfectly baked in cast iron skillet and the dusting with a bit of powdered sugar and dollop of whipped cream is the perfect finishing touch !!

You will need :- Crust

1 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flakes or porridge oats

1/4 cup mixed nut powder ( I used almonds, cashews, and walnuts )

4 tbsp. soft dark brown sugar

1/2 cup grated frozen butter

Pinch sea salt

1 tsp, ground nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom

Cold water as needed

You will need :- Filling

200 g fresh or frozen cranberries

100 g fresh or frozen blueberries

100 g raisins or yellow raisins

1 tsp, ground nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom

50 ml orange juice

150 g brown sugar

20 ml honey

Finely grated zest of one big orange

Small pinch salt

2-3 tbsp. Ginger cookie crumbs

You will need :- Serve

Few fresh mint leaves

powdered sugar

Whipped cream

Method :-
First in a bowl mix all the 'Filling' ingredients except the ginger cookie crumbs and leave it aside for half an hour.
Meanwhile prepare crust , grind buckwheat flakes and sugar in a food processor and grind till you get fine flour.
Now add salt, flour, spices, ground nuts and pulse to combine.
Now add grated frozen butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add cold water and pulse until dough just starts come together. ( dough need to be stiff )
Once dough holds it's shape, cover with the cling film and rest it in the refrigerator for at least about an hour.
Now turn the heat on and add all the filling mixture into a pan and bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
With a wooden spoon start pressing few cranberries so they pop open.
Turn the heat off and let the filling cool at room temperature.
Once you are ready to bake, pre heat oven to gas mark 6. or 400F.
Take out crust from the fridge and leave it outside for 5 minutes. Divide the dough in 3 equal portions.
On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/4 " thickness.
Transfer the rolled dough on to well seasoned cast iron skillet ( I did use 10" ) and arrange well. You should have equal amount of dough hang over each side.
Now sprinkle one tablespoon of ginger cookie crumbs evenly on the crust, and dollop the cooled filling in the centre of crust and fold the extra crust back over it, pleating as you go to partially enclose the filling.
Sprinkle the crust with brown sugar.
Bake the pie until crust is golden brown , it will take about 35-40 minutes.
Remove and let it cool for 10 minutes, sprinkle sugar and garnish and serve warm with the dollop of whipped cream.
Enjoy !!!!

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post ! We hope to see you again soon :)

Thursday, 18 February 2016

These baby potato dish is just not another potato recipe what you make everyday, but has a special value in your plate, these are flavourful, delicious and exceptional. Boiled baby potatoes, sautéed in the most amazing flavoured TADKA with minimum spices!

For this dish, tadka is flavoured with black pepper, curry leaves, roasted peanuts , sesame seeds and green chillies. Although I have added black pepper twice ( double the amount ) dish is not over powering with the pungent spiciness but actually enhances all the flavours !

Sesame seeds and Peanuts adds beautiful crunch and provides little balance as both ingredients are full of minerals and protein and makes a smashing combination. Although generally we peel the skin of the potatoes, with this recipe I have always used potatoes with the skin.

These lip smacking and finger licking baby potatoes are ideal for the Vrat or Upwas as they are cooked without any onion or garlic.

Tuesday, 16 February 2016

If you are an ardent fan of garlic or garlic chutney, you'll be bowled over by this recipe .Don't look at the pictures,remember the idome 'Don't judge a book by it's Cover' ! When I picked up my camera after couple of days , somehow I totally forgotten how to handle my camera that day, couldn't focus and after couple of clicks I put away the camera, but trust me once you'll go through recipe you'll know exactly what I mean.

During cold days I love to enjoy one pot meal especially over the weekends, and this Pulao , fits very well in that category. So easy to prepare and tastes incredibly amazing, garlic chutney lends that extra kick and tons of flavours, bland Potato and chick peas soaks all the wonderful flavours of garlic chutney and mingle beautifully in this dish. Chick peas provides protein thus this dish perfectly becomes well balanced meal !

So why wait, let's see how I made this hot and spicy Stuffed Garlicky Potato and Chick pea Pulao/Pilaf.

Method :-
In a big bowl add pinch salt and turmeric powder, mix and leave it aside.
First peel the skin of the potatoes and cut into cross slits leaving bottom part intact, leave them in a salty water you prepared earlier .
Now make stuffing mixture by mixing together garlic chutney, all the masala , salt, coriander , tomatoes and oil.
Carefully Stuff the 1/3 of the masala into slit potatoes.
Mix boiled chick peas into remaining masala and leave it aside.
Now prepare vaghar by heating oil in a thick bottom pan.
Add cumin and mustard seeds, once they crackle add hing.
Then add dry red chillies, curry leaves and sauté just for few seconds.
Carefully put stuffed potatoes into the pan and lower the heat.
Cover the pan with the lid and let the potatoes cook in it's own steam for 10-12 minutes.
Keep checking in between, if needed add couple of spoons of water )
When potatoes cooked almost 60% , add all the masala and chick peas.
Mix gently and cook for couple of minutes.
Drain the water from the soaked rice and add to the pan.
Mix gently and add enough water to cook the rice.
Add salt.
Once again cover the lid and let the rice cook.
Once rice is done, let it rest for 3-4 minutes.
Serve this Pulao hot with plain yogurt or Raita, roasted papad and colourful salad.
Enjoy !!

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post !
We hope to see you again soon :)

Monday, 15 February 2016

For me winter is all about enjoying rustic, wholesome and comfort food and that too if the recipe is so simple and easy to prepare. Many of you will agree with me that simple food tastes so much better as you can enjoy all the flavours and ingredients easily with distinctive taste.

Valor ( Indian Beans ), Ringna ( eggplant or aubergine ) are staple and winter vegetables, in Gujarati cuisine you can have these both vegetables in a different combination. Valor - Ringna nu Saak is one of the most popular and best combination you can try in your own kitchen.

This Valor Ringna nu saak, is in a rustic, authentic with distinctive taste maybe not a favourable for all and surely you will not be able to order in a restaurant as this sabji is only cooked in a Gujarati kitchens. This easy and home cooked Sabji cooks so quickly and minimal spices needed. I specially enjoy eating with Bajra Rotla ( Millet Flour Chapatti ) and Garlic Chutney, but can be accompanied with Roti or paratha too.

If you don't mind adding one more recipe of Indian Beans from this blog,check out my other winter recipe Papdi Lilva nu Saak which is terrific too !

I want to clarify here that Valor is not Surti Papdi. There is a bit of a difference look wise, taste wise they are similar but not same. Valor Papadi is around 5-6" long, round and plump and bungy and has around 5-6 beans in them. Surti papdi is not even 2" and shape is like crescent and has about 2-3 beans.

You will need :-

250 g Valor

250 g Ringana ( eggplant or aubergine )

1-2 tsp. ginger garlic paste

1 green chilli finely chopped ( optional )

3 tbsp. oil

1 small tomato finely chopped

Salt to taste

1 tsp. red chilli powder

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

2 tsp. ground cumin and coriander

1/4 tsp. garam masala

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. carom seeds ( ajwain )

Fresh chopped coriander

Method :- Pressure Cooker method

First prepare valor ( bit hard work ) by removing strand from the both sides and tiny bits of top and bottom part, so you'll have two parts of Valor and will be able to see inside. Check thoroughly and cut into 2".pieces. ( Use seeds and greens )
Cut stem of the eggplant and cut into preferred size. ( I don't like too small )
Wash thoroughly and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker add mustard and carom seeds.
Once they crackle quickly add ginger garlic paste, green chilli and sauté for seconds.
Now add tomato and let it cook until slightly mashed.
Add all the masala and mix well.
Add salt.
Add very little water as you don't want this saak watery. ( Actually I don't add any water as there is enough water in the vegetables while I washed there was some water content left in.
Close the lid and cook until one whistle ( again it's in my case if I cook till 3 whistle, I might get mashed Baingan Bhartha ..but you know better )
Once pressure cooker is cooled naturally open the lid.
Garnish with coriander and serve hot.
Enjoy !!

Method :- Stove top
Heat oil in a kadai add mustard and carom seeds.
Once they crackle quickly add ginger garlic paste, green chilli and sauté for seconds.
First add valor pieces and mix well, cover with the lid and let the valor cook for 7-8 minutes. Add very little water.
Now add eggplant, mix well and again cook for another 8-10 minutes.
Check it's doesn't stick at the bottom of the kadai, add couple of spoon water if needed.
Now add chopped tomatoes, all the masala and salt.
Mix well. cover the kadai with the lid and let it cook on a very low heat for another 5-6 minutes.
Once saak is done , sprinkle fresh chopped coriander and serve hot.
Enjoy !!

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We hope to see you again soon :)